CONGRATULATIONS To The Following FINALISTS

Painted from a life model this is not a portrait but an attempt to capture something of the rawness and solidity of a young man and his pride in his body.

Craig Handley

Title: The Climb 7112

Size: 112 x 122 cm Medium: Oil on Linen Price: $9500

This is a small painting about the continual climb. - CH 2018

Liz Harriott

Title: One Minute to Midnight, Full Moon November 2018 in Neptune's Garden of Eden

Size: 61 x 122 cm Medium: Oil on Canvas Price: $3000

This work is titled One Minute to Midnight, Full Moon November 2018 in Neptune’s Garden of Eden and is my response and interpretation of coral I discovered while visited South West Rocks in late 2017. I was saddened that the wonder of these coral’s may soon be lost to the world due to global warming and I wished to capture the other worldly nature of under water and the phenomena of coral spawning.

“Banksia in the Ferns” is simply a plant portrait. It depicts an iconic species of Australian plant that I have always found visually interesting with its textures and sculptural forms. This painting has been inspired by many that live in the bush behind my house in the Blue Mountains. During the prolonged dry period, many old individuals of Banksia have died throughout the Sydney area. So, while a common species, its existence is being impacted by our changing climate. I find this deeply concerning.

I am always amazed at the regeneration of the bush after a bush fire. From total destruction and a covering of grey ash, comes the rain, and with it, new growth. This cycle of resilience is inspiring, and gives one hope after seeing such a hopeless sight as a bushfire aftermath.

On one side of the diptych is the fire, its ash and charcoal flying. On the right side is the rain, cooling down and settling the detritus that is left after a fire. I chose to use strips of semi-transparent mulberry paper to suggest the fragmentation and deafening chaos and movement of the bark and leaves as they fly about during the fire. The strips are laid over a background of marks made with bushfire charcoal and on the top layer are flashes of gold leaf to suggest sparks and silver leaf to suggest rain.

Paul Jackson

Title: A Remarkable Man

Size: 160 x 130 cm Medium: Oil on Canvas Price: $12000

Ash Keating

Title: Gravity System Response 126

Size: 200 x 150 cm Medium: Acrylic on Linen Price: $17000

Hyunji Kim

Title: Claire

Size: 115 x 77 cm Medium: Oil on Acrylic Sheet Price: $3500

The internet offers us many tools in how we present our virtual presence to others, making the self-curation of our lives increasingly accessible. Social media can be useful for those wishing to write a particular narrative and vision of themselves. My work investigates the cause and effects of curated self-presentation, and how it may be empowering, misleading, or influential. I call to question what may get left behind after careful thought of self-image through expanding what may remain hidden or deemed unfit for external projections of character.

Jonathan Kim

Title: Jogakbo I

Size: 53 x 52 cm Medium: Crayon and Ink on Paper Price: $3500

In my Jogakbo painting series, Korean sentiments were used more actively than others. Jogakbo is a traditional Korean quilt cloth that has been made for hundreds of years, and it was made to recycle discarded materials rather than to be made for a particular purpose. Korean women used their sewing skills to create unique and personal patterns using the geometric shapes and colours of the fabric itself. With the traditional aspects, Jogakbo pattern is accepted as one of the design elements that represent Korean beauty today. However, the pattern is still being used in textile designs or Korean paper crafts despite its artistic potential. I adopted the aesthetic value of Jogakbo in my crayon painting, excluding the functionality. Also, the colours based on Obangsaek emphasise Korean sentiments. Jogakbo I consists of several rectangles with soft colours, as a result, it creates a very stable, gentle feeling.

Jung Eun Kim

Title: Breathe In, Breathe Out

Size: 71 x 101 cm Medium: Oil on Canvas Price: $3000

The inspiration of my new work comes from the book titled ‘The Way of a Pilgrim’, in which the main character grapples to understand what it means to ‘pray without ceasing’ (1 Thessalonians 5:17). He experiments by praying 3000 times a day, only to increase his number of daily prayers. The gesture of repeatedly drawing short, refined lines on the monochromatic surface signifies the accumulation of prayers and the unlocking of the invisible but spiritual world – the space of healing. The repetition of the same act creates meaning. That meaning gives strength and that strength becomes energy. The audience will travel together on the pilgrim’s road on the 0.7mm lines that represent each one of the pilgrim’s prayers, in the space between each line which represents the movement of breath, and in the space between the glossy and matte surface on the canvas.

Nerissa Lea

Title: Jump

Size: 25 x 25 cm Medium: Oil on Coated Aluminium Price: $1100

Hyun-Hee Lee

Title: Winter Letter

Size: 102 x 62 cm Medium: Ink, Cotton Thread, Hanji Price: $3500

Anne Leisner

Title: Roundabout Ahead

Size: 61 x 71 cm Medium: Oil on Canvas Price: $700

Jerry Liew

Title: Wharf 4

Size: 71 x 71 cm Medium: Oil on Canvas Price: $2750

A working harbour with its sound and rhythm, pulsates as sea salt stains the billowing air.

Alison Mackay

Title: Fay's Gardenias

Size: 45 x 30 cm Medium: Oil on Birch Panel Price: $1000

My paintings have, for many years, included elements of both reflection and refraction – most commonly in the form of glass objects. Bottles, vases, jars and glass of all kinds have been used in the compositions to enhance, disrupt and distort my still life paintings, adding an element of visual ambiguity and intrigue. This painting is as much about the clarity and reflective qualities of the glass vase as it is about the texture and beauty of the flowers.

Sonia Martignon

Title: Nymph of Empathy - Looked Deep Into Nature and Saw Thru the Eye of Another

This painting/2D wall sculpture explores mythology to examine why mankind always seems to be versing nature. How will our future look if we don’t embrace the natural world and learn from it? This life-sized piece was inspired by flora and fauna found in the remote Douglas River Esplanade, 200km south of Darwin. I have used the mythological nymph motif to describe a world untouched by humans. Considered the caretakers of the natural world, these creatures of myth are curious about and empathetic towards the natural environment, portraying qualities that are lacking in many of today’s societies.

Darcy McCrae

Title: Criminals In The Paper

Size: 60 x 75 cm Medium: Acrylic on Canvas Price: $800

Dear Michael, I seen these boys in The Paper, guilty of thieving, they got away, on the run now, the new Interpol album is good, I’ll show you later.

Kathryn McGovern

Title: Tarkine Wonderland

Size: 55 x 65 cm Medium: Oil on Canvas Price: $900

My practice is inspired by natural science and man’s behavioural relationships with animals. This landscape painting references the Tarkine Rainforest- part of an expansive wilderness of recognised World Heritage significance in the North West corner of Tasmania. The Tarkine contains remarkable natural and cultural values that are threatened by human impact - new mining, logging and poaching. It is home to more than 60 rare, threatened and endangered species. However, less than 5% of the Tarkine is protected as a National Park. It concerns me that the Tarkine’s future as a wild place is at risk. My intention was to depict the ‘decorative wonder’ of this landscape with its diversity of flora and fauna; and highlight the parasitic overwhelming of surfaces by natural forms. The title nods to Lewis Carroll’s Wonderland - symbolising the Garden of Eden - an idyllic place of beauty and innocence.

Gail McKenzie

Title: Blackford Hill

Size: 20 x 15 cm Medium: Oil on Board Price: $700

Part of a series of paintings inspired by visiting Scotland 2018

Paul Miller

Title: The Last Bale of Hay

Size: 85 x 110 cm Medium: Watercolour on Paper Price: $3700

Having grown up on a farm in Canada, every bale of hay was important. This images was done as a pray for the farmers out in the country.

Guy Morgan

Title: Lagoon Nebula (Polyptych)

Size: 175 x 132 cm Medium: Oil on Canvas Price: $24000

Each panel of this painting was created over 15 years with the underlying texture representing dark matter. Currently a paradox to science, dark matter makes up to 80 percent of the mass of the universe but does not emit light or energy.

Damian Moss

Title: Dark Matter No. 2

Size: 48 x 43 cm Medium: Ink on Torn Hahnemuhle Paper Price: $1600

In Dark Matter No.2, the paper is more than simply the support, it is an integral part of the image. Thousands of marks are made using an etching scribe to lift the surface of the paper. The composition is derived from a grid with each individual mark revealing the intersection of a horizontal and vertical line. The shapes in the image are suggestive rather than definitive, remaining open to individual viewer interpretation.